The New Beginning
by Colette Bunny
Summary: Lloyd and Colette go on a mission together to collect all the Exspheres of the land after what happened with Mithos. But on their journey, something very strange happens...
1. At the Party

**Chapter 1- The New Beginning **

Lloyd and Colette were sitting down on a soft chair together, laughing and telling jokes. Raine and Genis stood at a table, snacking down on some food. Presea and Regal were just talking about their plans, while Sheena was slapping Zelos for messing with her. They were having a celebration party at Lloyd's house for a new beginning, after what happened with Mithos. They were dressed in the fancy clothing they received in Meltokio at the party celebrating the Princess's rescue.

"I still can't get over the fact that you dress like this." Lloyd suddenly said to Zelos.

"It's not very comfortable, but it's very pretty." Colette replied.

Zelos laughed. "You're still a bunch of country folk."

Sheena then said, "Oh yeah, I still need to go change. I came straight from Mizuho in a hurry, so I didn't have time to." She ran to the bathroom and closed the door. Suddenly, Sheena heard a rustling sound coming from outside. She poked her head out the window and said, "Zelos, if that's you I'm going to-"

"You need me, hunny?" Zelos asked, but the voice was coming from the inside of the house, where she last saw him.

"Sh-shut up!" Sheena yelled back. She again turned her attention outside the window and listened more carefully. She saw some leaves falling off a nearby tree and Noishe laying down outside, but there was no where to see where the sound had come from. She looked around more intently and realized that a bush to her left was unnaturally swaying back and forth. Then, abruptly, a small black cloud appeared from the bush. Sheena was so dumbfounded that she stepped back and nearly fell over. She started to rub her eyes, as if her mind was playing tricks on her. While she was doing so, the cloud slowly started to ascend upward and out of seeing range. Sheena reopened her eyes and looked outside. The cloud was gone.

"Heh," she said, "It was nothing. I'm probably just stressed out or something."

A few minutes later, Sheena opened the door and stepped out, now in new clothes. She grinned and walked back to everyone.

"Well," Lloyd continued, "Me and Colette are going on a mission together to collect all the Exspheres in this land." He gave Colette a warm smile, and Colette returned it. He turned to Sheena and said, "How about you?"

"Well, with Grandma back, me and the people of Mizuho are going to-"

"Let's stop chatting and let's party!" Zelos interrupted. He went over to Raine and started mentioning how "beautiful" she looked today.

"Whatever…" Sheena grumbled, angry that Zelos interrupted her.

Later, as everyone was leaving, a noise could be heard. It was a mumbling sound from high above. It said:

"Revenge… revenge… you will all die…"


	2. First Goodbye

Chapter 2- The First Goodbye

Presea and Regal were at Altimaria. Presea stood at her sister, Alicia's grave. "Alicia…" she said solemnly. Regal appeared next to her, his shackles were removed. "Should we begin our project?" He asked. Presea turned around and nodded. She followed Regal to the elevator and went down, but as it was, there was a thumping sound.

At first, the two thought it was nothing important and ignored it.

"Do you think we should destroy the other half of the mine?" Regal asked.

"No," Presea replied, "Half of it is already destroyed, no new Exspheres will be made. We should leave it and move on to something else."

The thumping sound was getting louder and louder, Presea couldn't take it anymore.

"Regal," Presea turned to him.

"Yes, I hear that too."

When the elevator stopped going, they pressed the button so it went back up. They still heard some thumping noises. It was getting louder and louder, like a heartbeat. Suddenly, there was a loud _bang_, just as the elevator reached the top. Regal and Presea ran out in a hurry, and to their dismay, the top floor of the building was burning in flames. Presea screamed and ran to her sisters grave, which sat in the middle of all the flames. The grass around the stone seemed to be exploding with energy. It drew closer and closer, until the whole grave was erupted in fire also.

"Alicia…" Presea said.

"What happened…?" Regal asked, his eyes wide.

Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice rang around them. It said, "You…" in a zombie-like tone.

Regal's eyes grew even wider. "Mithos?"

Presea also heard it, but she couldn't believe it. "No… it can't be…" She turned around and started looking everywhere, frantically trying to find where the voice was coming from.

"You… you… I remember you…" The voice continued. It seemed to echo in their heads.

Presea covered her ears. "It's not Mithos! It can't be."

Unexpectedly, a large black cloud, no bigger than a balloon, soared upward, from the bottom of the building. It swayed back and forth and looked so much like mist. There were two blood red circles on the cloud, in a position that made it look like eyes. "I remember you…" it continued. "My memories are fading… but I remember you… so… so clearly…" It started to swivel around in midair, and as it was doing so, it seemed to grow larger.

Presea and Regal were in such shock, they didn't know what to say or do. They just stood still, watching what would happen next. They stood still for a while, staring intently at the cloud. Then, they noticed that its eyes were glowing. They stared into them, and what they saw, shocked them more than ever. Inside those bloodish eyes, stood the silhouettes of a group of twelve people. The two recognized the figures. In the middle was Lloyd, to his right was Colette, to his left was Genis, then Raine, to Colette's right was them: Presea and Regal, then came Sheena and Zelos, but there were other figures too, they were much farther back, and much more blurrier. Rings of fire surrounded them, most likely representing hatred.

Before their very eyes, the dark cloud had changed to twice its size. A dark aura seemed to engulf it.

"You… must… die… like I died…" it said in that same zombie way. It made one twirl in the air, and the building below Regal and Presea seemed to wobble. A crack suddenly appeared under the feet, and the building split in two. Presea and Regal fell between the crack to the first floor, but with the help of their Exspheres, they were able to land on their feet. The flames had reached this floor and everyone was running and screaming.

"Everyone!" Regal commanded, "Evacuate the building immediately!" He turned around and saw his butler, lying helplessly on the ground, George. "George!" He yelled. He ran toward him and picked him up. "We have to get out of here!" Everyone ran out the door toward the elemental railway. The pilot's face was pale, and he looked so stiff, that there was a doubt that he could even steer the boat to mainland. The cloud slowly descended toward the crows of panicking people. Presea instinctively turned around and swung her axe with great force at the top of the door. Bits of cement and rock fell to the flour in clumps and crashes. She knew it wouldn't bide them much time, but every moment would count for them. She ran ahead and jumped into the elemental railway. It was so cramped that it looked as if people were just about to fall off into the sea.

"Drive! Drive!" Presea commanded desperately.

The driver's face turned paler than ever, but he kept repeating to himself that the lives of these people were in his hands. He quickly grabbed onto the wheel and drove forward on the rails. Sweat rolled down his face and he swiftly shot a glance behind to see what was happening. To his horror, the rocks blocking the door exploded and a dark cloud slowly made its way out. The driver looked ahead, and to his relief he saw the mainland just up ahead. The elemental railway drove on ahead, and halted to a stop at the dock. The group of people jumped out immediately and started to run away screaming. The people at Altamira were a bit confused at first, but then realized what had happened from all the screaming. Then someone said, "Look! It's the cloud!" That caused everyone to run and scream. Even the driver got out of the elemental railway and started to run away. Regal and Presea calmly got out of the elemental railway and stood and faced the enemy approaching them. They knew what they had to do. They had to face to the enemy before them, to protect the people of Altimaria, and possibly, the people of their world. Presea pulled out her axe and glared at the cloud, which was only a few feet away from them.

"Mithos… or whatever you are, no matter what you're intentions are, you cannot go harming innocent people like this!"

Regal nodded, "Yes, we will put an end to this."

Mithos suddenly stopped moving toward them.

Presea and Regal became confused. They watched it for a moment, waiting for it to make a move. Then, unexpectedly, the cloud spun around and the earth below them started to shake. It shook some more until a crack below them appeared. The two jumped out of the way just in time, but the other citizens were not so lucky. Half of them fell threw, shrieking in horror.

"No!" Presea screamed.

Regal ran ahead and to strike the enemy, which was now at the dock. He tried to kick it, but foot went through the cloud. Regal was speechless. Presea then charged ahead and smashed her axe onto the floor at full force. Rocks shot forward at Mithos, but it too just went through him and fell into the water with a loud splash. The two were in panic. How were they supposed to fight it?

Mithos spun around again, and to their horror, a dark and black beam appeared out of it. It had purple marks on it , which spun around like a lava lamp. It looked just like Derris-Kharlan. And it moved incredibly fast, so fast that it hit Regal without him even realizing what happened. On contact, it caused an explosion.

"Regal! NO!-" Presea screamed in horror. She jumped out of the way to avoid the explosion.

Then she raised her axe and said, "Mithos, I'm not going to die without a fight! I'm not going to run away" She slammed her axe down on the floor and many rocks and rubble flew out at the dark cloud. But it just went through it, like everything else. Mithos shot another laser at Presea, but she jumped out of the avoiding the laser and the explosion that followed. "I won't be hit by that Mithos!"

But unexpectedly, more lasers came out of the explosion. Presea jumped out of the way of them, one-by-one. But then, they started to follow her.

Preseas ran as fast as she could, but in the end, it was futile. She collided with a rock that jutted out of the ground and fell to the floor, back first. She got up and looked at the beam-dead on. She knew she could run. "Lloyd, Colette, Genis, everyone… be careful…"

And it ended like that, with another explosion.


	3. Memento

"Colette," Lloyd asked, "So, what is it that we need to buy?"

"Three Apple Gels, and some food." Colette replied.  
Lloyd looked around at the desert sand and the bright burning sun. He put his hands over his eyes. "Ah… so hot… Can't we do shopping somewhere else? Triet is so hot…"

Colette laughed, "How about we rest at the Inn after this?"

Lloyd sighed, "Alri-"

But Lloyd didn't finish, he was cut off by a familiar voice, "Lloyd! Lloyd!"

Lloyd and Colette turned around. They saw their friends Genis and Raine running toward them.

"Hey, Genis! How's it going," Lloyd greeted him with a smile.

Genis stopped running and put his hands on his knees and started to pant. "L-Lloyd… I…" He collapsed onto the desert floor in a heap. Obviously, he had been doing a lot of running. Raine walked up to him and helped him get up. "Lloyd, there's no time to talk, this is an emergency."

Colette's eyes widened with concern, "What happened Raine?"

Raine's face darkened, "Altamaria was destroyed."

Suddenly, everything seemed to go quiet. The idea of such a city of paradise being destroyed was unbelievable. Then the silence was broke by Lloyd.

"Wait, Regal and Presea are in Altamaria! Are they alright?"

"They should be fine," Raine replied, "They have exspheres."

Genis regained his breath, "I-I wanted to go visit Presea, and when we got to Altamaria we saw it burning down. We knew that you would be in Triet by now, so we came to get you. You have to have to help us find Presea and Regal!"

"Calm down," Raine said coolly.

"There's no time to waste, let's go!" Lloyd gasped.

And so, the four ran off.

The group was flying over the sky. Rheirds were under their feet. They were zooming across the sky at incredible speeds. No one said a word. Their hearts were all full of worry.  
The clouds started to part, and below them revealed what looked like piles of charcoal.

"What!" Lloyd almost screamed, "That's Altamria! That can't be-"

"Yes, it is" Raine sighed, "It's been burning the whole time, and it looks like it just burned itself out."

They zoomed down toward the ground and landed in a hurry. Then, off they ran toward the city.

When they reached Altamaria, the sun was high in the sky, yet they couldn't see it through the thick smoke that was around them. Without a word the group went to work, digging through the pile of rubble, hopping that there were some survivors.

The hours past, one by one, and yet they found no. Then a groan was heard. "I found someone!" Colette called out.

Lloyd, Genis, and Raine all ran toward her. They started to push all the rubble away where they heard groaning sounds. A hand slowly appeared, then the rest of the arm, and finally the whole body. Lloyd gently pulled the man out. He was scarred and bruised and their were many gashed on him. "Are you alright?"

The man coughed, "Is Master Regal there?"

Genis exclaimed, "George!"

"No," Lloyd replied solemnly, "but we're looking for him. He should be fine. He has an Exsphere-"

George coughed, "You are sure?"  
Lloyd paused for a moment, "Yes."

"Alright then. Please find him, and tell him that I'm sorry." And with those final words, George closed his eyes forever.

Everyone became silent. Colette closed her eyes and started to pray.

"We'll make a grave for him later," Lloyd whispered. He laid George down gently and walked away.

The group continued to work until finally they hear Genis' cry, "Nooo!"

Everyone turned around and ran to him. Genis held something very dusty in his hands, he held it against his chest tightly like a long-lost treasure. You couldn't see what it was from a distance, but as the three advanced closer the realized what it was.

Presea's bloodstained axe.


	4. One Survivor

Chapter 4

"Genis…" Lloyd began.

"Noooo!" Genis screamed, "I know she's dead and nothing you say can change that!" Tears started to roll down his face. "Presea…" He fell to his knees and clutched the axe tight. "Why did you have to leave?"

Everyone silently decided to leave him be for a while. They all slowly started to walk away, all of them with an ache in their heart. They had lost a dear friend.

They worked until the sunset, removing rocks. They found many dead bodies, but no live ones.

Finally, the saw it.

The large crack.

"What could have made that?" Colette gasped.

"I don't know, but whatever it is it has immense power." Raine said.

Lloyd approached the crack and kneeled down on one leg. He stared down into the never-ending darkness and wondered how far it went.

Genis suddenly appeared behind them. "I've… I've done my share of crying," his voice was hoarse from the sobbing.

Everyone turned around to see Genis, still holding tightly to Presea's axe.

"Genis," Lloyd began, "You should keep that axe, as a memento of…" he paused, "Presea."

Colette gave Genis a reassuring smile, but his expression didn't change, "You guys," he began, "If Presea's gone, then Regal probably is too."

Everyone blinked at Genis' cold reasoning.

"There's no reason for one of them to leave Altamaria, besides, they don't have Rheairds. Let's go make a grave for them, it's getting dark." He slowly trotted away.

The three followed him without a word. They had to agree with them, they couldn't deny it any longer.

Presea and Regal were both dead.

Gone forever.

Out of their lives.

And will never return, ever, ever again…

Far away, on another continent, a female ninja was training a group of young children the famous Igaguri style. The class was all wearing red training outfits.

"Alright, class!" She boomed.

Everyone stopped and turned toward their instructor.

"Everyone has done exceptionally well today. Class is over for today-"

Abruptly a large _crash_ was heard outside.

Sheena quickly went alert. "Class, stay inside! I'm going to take a look what's happening outside."

"Yes, maam!" the children replied in chorus, although there was nervousness in their voices.

Sheena quickly ran slide the wooden door open. She ran with incredible speed outside and looked around. What she saw made we step back and gasp. In front of her were many houses up in flame. The fire quickly spread from building to building because of the wood. People were seen running from houses: Mothers carrying their children, men quickly bringing precious belongings outside to avoid the fire.

Suddenly, the house behind her caught in flame, then erupted with a _boom_. It was the house that contained the children.

"Everyone," Sheena commanded, trying to sound as strong as she could, "Evacuate Mizuho! Hurry!" She ran into nearby houses to check if there were still people inside, she had to save as many people as she could. _Ignore what just happened, _she thought, _there's nothing you can do about it. Worry about who you can save now._

People started running toward the village exit.

But something very strange happened as people were making their way out.

A dark cloud appeared in front of the group and started turning. "Revenge…" it groaned. A large laser appeared below the cloud and sprung toward the ground. A large explosion appeared, follow by many rocks flying into the air. The people didn't even have time to scream, it ended in less than a moment.

Sheena had heard the large sound and ran back outside, she sadly couldn't find anyone inside. She gasped in horror when she saw the rubble. She looked around and then came to a sad realization that the whole village was under the rubble.

"Grandpa… everyone…"

"You…" a familiar voice began.

Sheena spun around and saw the cloud. "It's you! I saw you the other day! I- I wasn't imaging it after all!" She started to glare at it. "You're the one who killed the people of my village! I'm going to avenge them no matter what!" She pulled out her cards and charged at the cloud.

"You… It's you… another one…" Two red glowing "eyes" appeared on the cloud.

Sheena looked into the eyes and stopped. She saw all of her friends. "What?" she gasped. "How do you know all of us?"

"You… will die…"

"Mithos…?" Her eyes widened and she started to sway back and forth. I can't believe it! You can't be Mithos… you-you're… I… ahh!" she groaned. "Whatever! I'm not just going to sit around and do nothing! I'm going to have my revenge no matter who or what you are!" She began to charge at the cloud. She leaped over the rubble with grace and soared toward the cloud. "Die!" She swung her card at the cloud.

But it just went through… like thin air.

But Sheena didn't pause, she was enraged and just kept trying to hit the cloud. But in the end it was all in vain.

Then, the cloud shot another laser out at Sheena. But Sheena was too fast for it, she bounded out of the way and landed on a pile of rocks. "Too slow!" she taunted.

But then, the laser turned right and went right toward her, like a lock-on missile.

She gasped, but managed to avoid the laser barely. However, it hit the pile of rocks under her, causing it to fly up and land… right on top of Sheena.

The dust rose and settled, and not another movement was seen.

"It's not enough…." The cloud groaned, "they all will die…" and it evaporated into thin air.

Slowly, a rock started to shift aside. A hand came out of the pile and pulled aside another rock. It slide down the hill and hit the ground with a _thump_. Sheena arouse from the pile, scarred and bruised. Her hair was pulled down, and her clothes were ripped. She wiped a trickle of blood from her forehead. "At least I'm alive," she grumbled. She looked around… "I'm sorry… Grandpa…" she whispered solemnly.

Suddenly, she fell to her knees coughing. "Heh, maybe I'm a little more beat-up then I thought." She coughed some more. "I have to tell the others… Let's see, I'll start at Meltokio." And suddenly, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.


	5. Cry your Sorrows Away

Ch. 5

Lloyd, Colette, and Zelos stood at the outside of the chapel speaking of their current situation.

"No way! Seriously?" Zelos asked, surprised.

Lloyd nodded solemnly.

"Man… Little One and Quiet Guy are really gone…"

"Zelos," Lloyd glared, "This is serious!"  
"I know! I'm taking this as badly as you are! Sheesh, calm down!"

"But the weird thing is…" Colette interrupted, "Is that whatever or whoever murdered Presea and Regal had incredible powers. It caused a huge crack to appear on the ground…"  
Lloyd nodded, "We're up against something extremely powerful, but I'll stop at nothing to defeat it…"

"I'll help too," Zelos replied, "At least… I'll try, I'm not going to run away or anything though."

"I trust you now, Zelos." Lloyd nodded.

Colette's widened. "Do you hear that?"  
Lloyd and Zelos looked up. "No," Zelos said, "What is it?"  
"I hear… Sheena…"

"What's she doing here?" Lloyd asked, puzzled.  
"Don't know, let's go see. Where's her voice coming from?"

"The slums… but… um… guys… she's saying some really weird things… I don't even think this is Sheena."  
Lloyd blinked, "What do you mean?"  
"She says she's here to murder the Chosen… now's she talking about her grandpa… now she's talking about…"

"I don't like the looks of this, let's go check it out! Colette, Lloyd come on!" Zelos commanded, and he ran off.

Lloyd and Colette raced after him, both very worried.

Colette led the two through the slums, follow the long train of words. They ran from alley to alley. It seemed like an eternity for the three.

Finally, They reached their destination. Colette gasped and pointed with a shaking finger at a dark figure laying against a dirt covered wall. The figure was engulfed in shadows and the three couldn't see the face. But they knew what who it was.

"Sheena!" Zelos called out and ran to her. Lloyd and Colette followed.

"Sheena…? What happened?" Colette's voice was full of worry.

"Is the Chosen of Mana among one of you…" Sheena's voice was a low moaning sound. There were many cuts and bruises all over her. And the pins that held her hair up was gone, causing her hair to dangle down to her shoulders.  
"What? Sheena, what are you talking about?" Lloyd's eyes widened.

"Guys, look here!" Zelos motioned for the two to come over. Zelos kneeled down and pointed at Sheena's skull. "There's a… a huge bruise here… it almost likes like her skull was slightly crushed."  
Unexpectedly, Sheena's eyes snapped wide open. "Guys!" she gasped. She slowly tried to get up, but immediately fell back down, howling in pain.

"Sheena, don't move!" Lloyd commanded.

"Guys…" she moaned, "I have to tell you something…" She coughed and blood appeared on her hand.

"Sheena," Zelos began, "For now, don't say or do anything. We need to take you to a doctor immediately. I think the injury on your skull is doing something weird to your brain, you think you're in the past…"

"Exactly!" Sheena hissed, "That's exactly why I have to tell you this now! I'm very lucky to have the three of you here… Just... please listen, while I can still tell you this.

The group went quiet.

"There's this thing…" Sheena began, but then began to cough blood. Zelos went over to help her, but she pushed him away. "This… dark cloud, it came to our village and destroyed it. Everyone's dead now, except for me." She started to shake. "It was so powerful… and… and I couldn't even touch it! My attacks just went through, like it was mist!"

The group's eyes widened.  
"I saw the cloud before, I saw it at the party the other day. I thought I was imagining it, but I wasn't after all… B-b-but the weirdest thing is… is that the cloud was---" But before she could finish she started to cough like crazy. She started to shake, and her fists started to tighten.

"Sheena…" Zelos began, "If you're in pain, just cry. It will make you feel better."

"No!" She yelled, and then started to cough again, "Being feminine just isn't my style… I've said before…" But tears were already starting to well up in her eyes.

"Just cry, Sheena," Zelos said again.  
Sheena couldn't take it anymore; tears started flowing in her eyes. "I lost grandpa… this time for good!" she sobbed.

Zelos slowly wrapped his arms around her. Instead of usually hitting him or pushing him away, Shena let him. "Grandpa…" she sobbed.

"It's alright Sheena… we'll avenge your village, I swear it."

Sheena nodded.

Meanwhile, Lloyd and Colette looked at each other solemnly. They both knew that Altamaria was destroyed by that dark cloud. They knew their enemy.

"Sheena," Lloyd began, "We have to take you to a hospital! You're loosing blood!"

Sheena wiped her tears away, "No!" she said forcefully, I haven't told you-" But then she started to cough again. Then, she started to mumble again.

"Kuchinawa…"

Suddenly, it happened again: The sound of an explosion, the cry of people in terror.

It was back.


	6. A Promise

Chapter 6

"Kuchinawa… how are you?" Sheena mumbled, unaware of anything that was happening.

"Guys!" Lloyd shouted urgently, "We have to get Sheena out of here!"

But it was too late. A building next to them exploded and a dark cloud appeared in front of the group. "You…!" it hissed, "You're not dead yet… you must die…"  
Zelos gently laid Sheena down quickly got up and stood in front of Sheena. "I'm not going to let you touch her!" He pulled the sword out of his sheath. Lloyd then pulled his twin blades out of his sheath, and Colette took her chakrams out.

"I know you all too… so well… I will kill you all…"

"No you won't!" Lloyd shouted. He charged at his enemy.

"Wait, Lloyd! Stop!" Colette cried.

Lloyd stopped in his tracks and looked around. "But Colette, how else do we stop it?"  
"It can't be invincible, we'll find a way!"

"Maybe magic will work! Zelos suggested. "Fire Ball!" A small ball of flame appeared and zoomed forward at the cloud, but passed through and hit a pile of rubble behind it.

"Damn!" Zelos cursed "How do we get rid of this thing if everything passes through it!'

"Die…!" the cloud moaned. Red eyes appeared and the three friends looked inside them.

"Mithos!" Colette exclaimed.

Lloyd and Zelos turned to look at her.

"Don't you see? It sounds just like him, and he knows us! It shows in his eyes!"  
Lloyd nodded in agreement, "He has a burning hatred for us, that's what I don't understand."

Mithos spun three times and three small laser shot out of it. They were smaller than the others, but each going faster than normal and all zooming at different targets.   
Lloyd and Colette jumped out of the way, avoiding two of the beams.

"Zelos, Sheena! Get out of the way!" Lloyd shouted.

Zelos sprung into action. He grabbed Sheena and tried to run, but was hit in the leg by beam. It made a small explosion, reaching up to his waist. He howled in pain and fell to the ground, bloody, dropping Sheena.

"Zelos!" Lloyd screamed.

All of a sudden, the cloud started to sway back and forth uncontrollably. Steam started to arise from it, and it howled in pain and agony.

Lloyd and Colette blinked at the strange sight and wondered what was happening.

"I…" Mithos began, "I won't die until I kill you all… I'll be back…" and disappeared.

Lloyd and Colette ran to their friend's aid. "Zelos, you're bleeding like crazy!"

Zelos shook his head, "Don't worry about me. Sheena and I lost too much blood, I don't think we can make it anyway."

Colette shook her head vigorously. "Please, don't give up hope!"  
"Whatever will be, will be. Please, let us be, just for a little while. Please, this is my dying wish."  
Lloyd paused for a moment. "Alright." He sad sadly.  
"Lloyd!" Colette's eyes widened.

Lloyd shook his head, "It's no use, the hospital is probably destroyed, and by the time we get to the next one in a nearby city, they would have…"

Colette turned to Zelos and Sheena, "I'm sorry," she whispered, and ran across to the remains of another alley.

Lloyd started to follow her, but then stopped when Zelos started to speak.

"Lloyd, make me this promise. I'm not going to be able to avenge anyone anymore, so… please do that for me… no, for all of us. Please make me this promise."

Lloyd turned around. "I will."

"Thanks, man." He smiled a weak smile.

"Zelos… goodbye," and with that, he followed Colette.

When the two were out of sight, Zelos turned to Sheena. "Sheena, are you there…?"

"… thy pact with Mithos and establish a new pact with me…"

Zelos sighed, "I guess not." He brushed the hair out of her face and said, "I've always wanted to do this, but you probably would have given me a good hard smack." Then, ever so slowly, he gently kissed her on the forehead. "It's been really nice knowing you, Sheena. Goodbye, hunny." He laughed and held Sheena's hand tight. Then, for the last time he closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

Next to him, the injured girl snapped her eyes open once again. "Zelos… Thank you for everything." And she too, closed her eyes with a smile on her face.

Moments later, Lloyd and Colette appeared in front of the two.

"They died with a smile on their face…" Lloyd whispered.

Suddenly, Colette grabbed onto Lloyd and burst into tears. "Lloyd, I'm sorry," she sobbed.

Lloyd blinked at her, "Why are you sorry?"

"I'm crying…"

Lloyd chuckled, "Just be happy that you can actually cry."

"Lloyd?"  
"Yes, Colette?"

"I'm scared. We're all dying, one-by-one. I don't want to die anymore," she sobbed.

Lloyd patted her gently, "We're not going to die. I'm with you, I won't let that happen."  
Colette wiped her tears away. "Thank you, Lloyd. I feel safer when I'm with you."  
Lloyd smiled at her, then his smile disappeared and a grave expression came to his face, "If only none of this were happening, if only we could bring our friends, and all the people who died back."


	7. All for Nothing?

Chapter 7

Lloyd and Colette stood in front of two graves. One had a tombstone with the words "Zelos Wilder" inscribes on it, and the other had "Sheena Fujibayashi" on it. Colette prayed and Lloyd stood in deep thought. _How are we supposed to defeat something that we can't even touch?_

"Lloyd," Colette stopped praying and looked up, "Do you remember Mithos ran away after it hit Zelos?"Lloyd's eyes widened and he nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah! Maybe that's its weakness!"  
"But, what exactly happened?"

"I don't know. Zelos was trying to protect Sheena, tried dodging the attack, and got hit." He held his forehead, "It all doesn't make sense…"  
"We'll find someway. All we know now is that Mithos isn't invincible, and he's trying to murder us."  
"But why?""I don't know." She sighed solemnly, "But I miss our friends."  
"I do too, but- Oh no!"  
Colette looked at Lloyd, "What is it, Lloyd?""If Mithos is after us, then Genis and the Professor are in danger!"  
Without another word, the two ran off to find their friends.

As Lloyd and Colette flew through the skies on their Rheairds their hearts filled with sorrow. Where cities towns and villages were suppose to be, were nothing but ruins. There efforts, and the journey they went through was for nothing. Everything was lost.  
Finally, the reached the ruins of Altamaria.  
They landed in the rubble and looked around.  
"Genis! Professor! Where are you!" Lloyd called out.  
No reply.  
"Lloyd," Colette began slowly, "I don't think they're here. I don't hear anyone.""Then where are they?" he started to sound frustrated  
"I think they're in the Iselia Forest. Iselia is one of the only places that hasn't gotten destroyed. Ruins are dangerous to enter. They could fall apart any moment. So I think they're there.""Alright then! Let's go!"

The two started to fly across the sky once more.  
Then Colette started to ask, "Lloyd, what if the journey we went through was for nothing?"

"It couldn't be for nothing… it just can't."  
"What if we can't stop Mithos?""We will. Don't worry."  
Colette stood still for a moment, and then gasped. "Lloyd, look!"  
Lloyd look down and saw a small explosion coming from Iselia Forest.  
"Colette, we have to hurry!"

The two swooped down and landed swiftly on the forest floor. Another explosion came, and then a boy's cry could be heard, "Mithos, why!"


	8. Soul of Hate

Chapter 8

Lloyd and Colette ran to where they heard the boy's cry. As they ran, they already started to notice some trees being blown into the air.

When they finally got to Genis, he was standing in place and shivering.

But from what emotion?

"Genis!" Lloyd shouted, "Stay back!"

Genis turned around. "Lloyd!"

"Die…" Another beam came from the cloud.

Lloyd ran forward and grabbed Genis by the shirt. He started to run as fast as he could.

The beam exploded, sending rocks flying in all directions.

Colette pulled out her chakrams and tossed it at incoming rocks, clearing the path for Lloyd. The bladed rings returned to her like a Frisbee and off she ran after Lloyd.

"Where's the Professor?" Lloyd asked frantically.

"She's in Iselia, warning the villagers of Mithos. But… they don't believe her."

Colette burst through the trees. "Lloyd! He's heading towards Iselia!"

Lloyd stopped in his tracks and instinctively turned around. Still, grabbing on to Genis, he ran after Colette who was already running toward the village.

By the time they reached the village, it was already in shambles.

"Professor!" Colette cried out.

"Colette!" came the reply.

The group ran over to where they had heard the voice and came upon Raine, covered in dirt and scars.

"Professor!" Colette gasped.

"I'm alright." Raine slowly arose from her laying position and got up. "But there's no time to talk, it's coming back!" Her voice turned urgent.

Lloyd set Genis down, and the group turned around. And there, they saw it.

"You're alive…" It moaned.

"You bet we are!" Lloyd countered back, "And we're gonna take you down!"

"Lloyd! Wait!" Genis shouted.

Lloyd looked down at Genis.

"This isn't Mithos!"

His eyes widened, "What are you talking about?"

"I know Mithos very well! When we were still friends, he had this tranquil and serene aura around him. Now, it's hate and revenge, it's even stronger than when we were fighting him! I don't know how I can sense this, but I just can. This must be Mithos' hate only!"

"B-but that doesn't make sense at all!"

"I can't describe it, but I just have this sixth sense about it! Trust me, Lloyd, please!" His voice was frantic.

"I believe you, Genis," He drew his swords, "So, how do we get rid of it?"

"I- AHH!" He screamed.

"Genis!" Lloyd cried.

Mithos had shot another beam out towards Genis. Luckily, it only skimmed his side. The beam fly back, flying into debris behind them, sending a shower of rock into the air.

Genis fell to the ground, yelping in distress.

Lloyd glared, "How could you do that to your friend?"

"Friend…?" Came the reply. "What does 'Friends" mean?"

Lloyd glared again, "So you're really not Mithos afterall."

Raine ran forward to aid her little brother, "First Aid!" She shouted.

A glimmer of light surrounded the wound and then floated away.

But the wound was still there.

"What?" She gasped.

"You cannot heal hate… You can only overcome it…" The cloud groaned.

"Damnit!" Lloyd cursed.

"Go, run!" Raine turned and faced Mithos. "I'll bid you some time, get Genis to safety!"

"But, Professor, we can't just leave you here alone!" Lloyd argued.

"Go!" She commanded forcefully.

Lloyd grunted unhappily, but snatched up Genis and ran. "Colette come on!"  
Colette turned around again and said, "Be careful, Professor." Then she ran.

Raine held her staff tight, sweat coming to her palms. "I'm not going to let you harm Genis! Take this, Photon!" She raised her staff into the air, causing a string of light to surround the dark cloud, then engulfing it into a ball of yellow light. It stayed there for a moment, unmoving, then disappeared to reveal that the cloud had been unharmed.

"Die…" Mithos shot another beam out at Raine. She ran out of the way, barely avoiding incoming rocks.

Then the beam repapered again from the dust and zoomed toward Raine.

Raine couldn't get away and time, and screamed in pain. She fell on her back, bloody.

"Why aren't you dead…?" The cloud asked.

"I won't let you hurt my little brother…" she grunted and reached for her staff. She was inches away when suddenly she yelped in torture. She used her left hand to hold the wrist that had been fractured. She knew she couldn't move anymore.

"Now…" The cloud advanced toward her. "Die…"

Raine looked up into the sky. The sky was baby blue and a few clouds floated amongst them. If it weren't for the events happening, this would probably be considered a beautiful day. She saw a cloud larger than the others and looked carefully at it. The cloud looked very much like Genis, with his long pointy hair, and the grin on his face.

Raine lifted her left hand towards the sky. It shook, but Raine kept it up, she reached toward the cloud, as if she could grab onto Genis. "Genis… be careful…" she whispered with the last of her strength.

Then, with a loud _kaboom_, everything went dark for her.


	9. Reunion

Chapter 9

"Lloyd! Lloyd! Did you hear that?" His eyes widened with worry.

The young swordsman stopped in his tracks and gently set his friend down. "Yes." He nodded gravely. "L-let's go back. Please."

Lloyd frowned, "But the Professor..."

"No! We have to go back! No matter what!" He slowly started to trot away, but immediately fell down.

"Ow..." He groaned.

Colette walked up to Lloyd and gently took his hands in hers, "Please, let's just go back. For both their sake."

Lloyd sighed, "Alright."

Colette walked up to Genis and helped him up. Then the three of them sprinted towards Iselia.

"It... looks even worse than before..." Colette ran forward calling out, "Professor! Where are you?"

Genis ran to a pile of rocks and began to cry. Lloyd walked up to him and looked down. There, in a pile of rubble lay half of Raine's staff.

Tears rolled down the child's face. "This is just like with Presea," he sobbed, "I'm loosing everyone that's important to me!"

Colette walked up to the two and tried to give a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Genis," she began softly, "You still have us..." She trailed off when she saw that it was having now affect.

Suddenly, Genis fell to the floor yelping in pain. He held his side, blood dripping all over his hand.

"Oh no!" Lloyd gasped, "You put too much strain on yourself! Don't move and just rest"

"Lloyd..." Genis was loosing strength by the second.

"Genis, stop! If you keep pushing yourself... you'll... Never mind." He shook his head, not wanted to think about loosing another friend. "We'll rush you to a hospital, then we'll get our revenge on Mithos! We won't let him get away with this! Just don't worry about it!"

"No..." The half-elf interrupted. "You can't fight hate with more hate..." He was starting to close his eyes. "You have to fight it with... with..." And with that, he closed his eyes forever.

"No...!" Colette choked sadly. She held her hands to her chest, as if to push away the pain. Lloyd sat on one knee, covering his face with his hands.  
They had lost a friend they had known for years.

The sat there for countless minutes. The minutes turned to hours, and hours turned to days. In their hearts, the time turned to years; but in reality, they had only been there for a few minutes.

Then suddenly, past the thick unsettling dust, came a figure. His muscular figure was becoming more visible by the second, his spiky maroon hair becoming more vibrant.

Lloyd looked up. At first, he didn't recognize the figure. Then it became clear to him. "It's..."

Kratos.


End file.
